Severe thunderstorms rumble across the mid-Atlantic, Appalachians amid heat and humidity
Severe storms fueled in part by unbearable heat and instability hammered areas from the Southern Appalachians to Pennsylvania on Thursday, producing damaging wind gusts and heavy rainfall. Cities like Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia were placed under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch.
Thunderstorms develop along heat dome on Thursday
Thunderstorms took advantage of the heat across much of the nation on Thursday, producing spouts of heavy rainfall and damaging wind gusts from the southern Appalachians through Pennsylvania.
WASHINGTON - Strong thunderstorms took advantage of the heat across much of the nation on Thursday, producing spouts of heavy rainfall and damaging wind gusts from the southern Appalachians through Pennsylvania.
According to the Storm Prediction Center, atmospheric conditions led to the pulse-type convection, which was more disorganized than in days past.
Forecasters did issue a Severe Thunderstorm Watch box for communities such as Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, where thunderstorms had the highest chance of producing damaging wind gusts.
In many cities along the I-95 corridor, residents experienced daytime highs well into the 80s and 90s, and coupled with high dew points, pushed heat indices into uncomfortable territory.
Where thunderstorms struck early in the day, several trees were blown down in western Virginia, Ohio and Michigan.
(FOX Weather)
The Upper Midwest seemed to be the region for the day’s tornadic activity, with some of the same towns south of Minneapolis impacted by twisters for the second day in a row.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, frontal boundaries were draped across the region, which led to the greater threat of supercells and organized activity.
At least one barn was destroyed by a tornado outside of Hartland, Minnesota, on Wednesday with residents capturing sighs of the tornadic activity on video.
Due to the rural nature of the farmland, no significant damage was reported during the week, but it was a different story for residents along the west-central coast of Florida where dozens of homes were either damaged or destroyed by an unwarned tornado.
Emergency crews were seen going door to door to check for potential storm victims in Pinellas County on Wednesday, but there were no indications that there were any life-threatening injuries.
Debris spotted swirling from Florida tornado
An unexpected tornado tore through parts of Pinellas County on Wednesday, damaging dozens of homes and leaving a trail of destruction in neighborhoods west of Tampa.
UNEXPECTED TORNADO DAMAGES DOZENS OF HOMES ALONG FLORIDA’S GULF COAST
As the ridge of high pressure continues to break down across the eastern half of the nation, afternoon storms will remain in the forecast nearly every day, producing threats of damaging winds, hail and lightning.
June and July are typically the most active months for damaging thunderstorm wind events across the U.S. According to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, an average of 3,187 reports of damaging winds are received each June, followed by another 3,109 reports every July.